Every site we install on has its own criteria and background for which we build our scope of works on. Looking at the existing site set up can help us determine what we need to undertake in order to supply a compliant and functional project.

The 2020 General Binding Rules created a set of regulations that needed to be adhered to in order to be environmentally and legally compliant, the wastewater set up at one site in Northumberland had an archaic brick built septic tank which was discharging to the local watercourse.

In order to meet the owner’s environmental obligations, we provided a quotation for the supply and installation of a suitable package sewage treatment plant to suit the properties connected. As the existing septic tank was discharging untreated effluent into the surrounding ecosystem replacing this with a treatment plant was essential.

We selected the Klargester BD BioDisc to suit the application based on the supply of a suitable system to serve 6 properties.

The new BioDisc sewage treatment plant meant that there were some changes to the expectations of the property owners, this came in two main ways; firstly, the new unit required a constant electrical supply meaning that this will come with an associated day to day operational cost. This system has one of the lowest power consumptions on the market and offers a higher treatment efficiency for the power input.

The other factor is the Klargester requires a routine mechanical and electrical service in line with the manufacturer’s guidelines.

The existing pipework on site had been checked as suitable to be utilised for the new installation therefore we proposed to intercept the existing inlet drainage and divert to the new installation location adjacent to the old.

This ultimately meant that minimal pipework was required over the project, and we subsequently installed a total of 7 metres of new drainage on site on both the inlet and outlet drainage.

The hole was dug to receive the new treatment plant with a concrete base laid level in the bottom of the excavation, using an 8-ton excavator the new Klargester was lifted and then lowered onto the pad. Water was then used to suitably ballast the unit to protect the structural integrity of the BioDisc, once this was sited and levelled the unit was then surrounded in a suitable dry concrete encasement.

Having the right specification and slump of concrete is vital for any installation that takes place and even more so when there is clear evidence of groundwater visible in the hole. This installation required the use of a submersible pump to remove water from the base putting more emphasis on the requirement for a dry mix concrete to be supplied.

As part of Building control guidelines once the new system had been installed and the pipework to the old unit disconnected, we arranged for a vacuum tanker to attend site to empty the Septic tank in full. Once the desludge had taken place the unit was then decommissioned and infilled with a granular material to avoid and potential future settlement.